Students encouraged to apply for local internships

Feb. 27, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University students have a chance to earn some $8,000 by applying for local internships before the March 30 application deadline.

Two dozen internships are available through the Monroe-Brown Foundation Internship Program, which provides full-time area college students with funding for their studies as well as hands-on learning and experience in life science and advanced manufacturing careers.

"These are high-quality internships that include hourly wages, valuable networking opportunities and a significant financial scholarship for all student participants," says Jane Baker, director of the Monroe-Brown Foundation.

"Students chosen as interns will build valuable relationships within the Southwest Michigan business community, not only at their workplaces, but also at program events and activities held exclusively for this group of students."

The Monroe-Brown Foundation launched its internship program in 2007 in partnership with Southwest Michigan First and several local companies. The program serves as an intellectual capital retention tool, helping keep the region's most talented students in Kalamazoo after graduation. Twenty-two WMU students successfully applied to the program in 2008 and completed their internships this past summer.

Because the program provides money for students to continue their educations, participants must be enrolled in school full time following their internships. To be eligible, students must be juniors, seniors or graduate students at WMU, Kalamazoo College, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, or second-year students at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. The MSU and UM applicants must have attended high school in the greater-Kalamazoo area.

Those hired as interns work between May 1 and Aug. 31 for a minimum of 400 hours--typically full time for 10 weeks--although work hours can be customized to suit the needs of the participating employers and students.

Interns earn at least minimum wage while working for their companies and during subsequent months, receive a scholarship totaling $6,000. The scholarship is paid out through two $500 bonuses distributed upon completion of the internship--one from the employer to the student and one from the Monroe-Brown Foundation to the intern's school account--and a $2,500 payment at the end of each of the two semesters following the internship period--both from the foundation to the intern's school account.

Participating employers

Access Medical LLC, sales and marketing

American Village Builders, development and construction

BASIC, database programming

CAM Group, engineering

Getman Corp., market research, human resources

Great Lakes Aviation, engineering

Jasper Clinical Research & Development, life science clinical research

Landscape Forms, engineering

Pfizer Animal Health, life science clinical research

Proteos, contract life science research

Skanska USA, engineering

Southwest Michigan First, marketing

TEKNA Inc., mechanical engineering, marketing

Treystar Holdings Inc., real estate development and management

Wolverine Pipe Line Co., engineering, information technology

Workforce Strategies Inc., human resources

All of those employers work independently to hire their interns, using criteria and hiring methods they choose.